The cities of Abidjan, Bobo-Dioulasso, Dakar, Douala, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Praia, Yaounde and the host city, Brazzaville, met from 12 to 14 June 2018, for the 2nd MUFPP Regional Forum in Africa. The Forum was made possible thanks to the collaboration between FAO, the MUFPP and the Municipality of Brazzaville that hosted the event with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The goal was to expand the network of African cities signatories to the MUFPP and facilitate exchange of good practices on urban food policy.

By request of several local authorities, the regional Forum in Brazzaville focused on urban food issues for Western and Central African cities in the broader debate promoted by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and as a contribution to the FAO City-City Cooperation Initiative (CtCi). The three days of activities consisted in presenting key challenges cities are facing in the region, the initiatives that they launched and issues to be solved.

The Forum was also the occasion for cities to work on a peer to peer approach by clustering into three working groups:

1. Support to Production and Marketing – the City of Niamey set up farmer-houses, facilitating access of small producers to services. It also considered strengthening the marketing of local products through the creation of a selling counter for a great range of locally produced vegetables;
2. Governance of Food Systems and Planning – Douala Urban Community aimed at defining the city’s food and nutrition security strategy and its action plan. It has set up a multi-stakeholder platform and was about to launch an analysis of its local food system in partnership with the University of Douala;
3. Land pressure and creation of a land use plan – the City of Bobo-Dioulasso is facing a reduction in arable land due to widespread urbanization combined with a complex existing land system. In response to this, municipal authorities adopted the Land Occupancy Plan in March 2017. This municipal planning law complements the Master Plan of Urban Development (SDAU) and contributes significantly to the reduction of land insecurity.